Body found in ocean near cement ship in Aptos

A body was found in the ocean near the cement ship at Seacliff State Beach in Aptos on Thursday, firefighters told KSBW.

The body was spotted in the water at the end of the Seacliff cement ship's pier at 1:30 p.m. A Santa Cruz Harbor Patrol boat was launched and a rescue team discovered that the body was below the ocean's surface because it was weighted down by something.

Emergency responders did not release any information about the victim's identity. Santa Cruz County Sheriff's deputy Ryan Kennedy said the coroner will not confirm an identity until Friday.

Earlier this week a sheriff's search and rescue dive team went inside the cement ship to search for 17-year-old Nathan Phillips of Aptos.

Phillips was last seen Dec. 2 and his family reported him missing Dec. 3. The Aptos High School student told his family he was "going on an adventure" just before he left on his bicycle. Phillips' bicycle was later found abandoned at the entrance to Seacliff State Beach.

The concrete freighter is half-submerged in the ocean and pieces of its deck have crumbled away from decades of battering waves. The search and rescue team did not find any sign of Phillips during last week's search.

On Thursday, the body was spotted by fishermen who had been fishing from the pier. Fishermen said the person in the ocean looked like a young man.

Forty years ago, one of the greatest boxing matches in history took place in an unlikely setting: the capital of the Philippines. Muhammad Ali's epic win over great rival Joe Frazier in 1975 became known as the "Thrilla in Manila."